At least 15 killed in latest Ecuador prison riot
2 years, 2 months ago

At least 15 killed in latest Ecuador prison riot

Al Jazeera  

South American nation’s prison agency says 14 people were taken to hospital and work is under way to identify the dead. At least 15 prisoners have been killed and many wounded in the latest riot to hit Ecuador’s troubled prison system. Monday’s rioting at the Cotopaxi No 1 jail in Latacunga left “15 people dead and 20 injured,” said a spokesperson for SNAI, the agency that manages Ecuador’s prisons. More than 400 inmates have died in prison violence since February 2021, which the government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso has attributed to gang warfare over control of territory and drug trafficking routes. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said Ecuador has no comprehensive policy for its prison system, and inmates endure crowded and dangerous conditions.

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History of this topic

At least 15 inmates killed in a fight in Ecuador’s largest prison
1 month, 1 week ago

At least 15 inmates killed in a fight in Ecuador’s largest prison

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — A fight among inmates in Ecuador’s largest and most dangerous prison left 15 dead and 14 wounded, authorities said Tuesday, in the bloodiest prison episode faced by President Daniel Noboa’s government. The latest violence underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the Noboa administration in addressing the country’s severe prison crisis. The mass killing is bound to agitate …

At least 15 dead as inmates clash at notorious Ecuadorian prison
1 month, 1 week ago

At least 15 dead as inmates clash at notorious Ecuadorian prison

CNN  

CNN — At least 15 people have been killed and 14 injured in clashes between inmates at one of Ecuador’s largest and most notorious prisons, local authorities say. The violence broke out early Tuesday in one of the pavilions at Litoral Penitentiary in the coastal city of Guayaquil, according to national prison agency SNAI. Inmates' relatives embrace outside the Litoral …

Five jailed for 2023 murder of Ecuador presidential candidate
5 months, 1 week ago

Five jailed for 2023 murder of Ecuador presidential candidate

Al Jazeera  

Former journalist Fernando Villavicencio’s family and friends have urged an investigation into who ordered his killing. A court in Ecuador has handed down prison sentences of 12 to 34 years to five people found guilty of conspiring to murder presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. According to the attorney general’s office, Carlos Edwin Angulo Lara, known as ‘El Invisible’, gave the order …

Gunmen in Ecuador kill 8, injure 8 others in attack in coastal city of Guayaquil as violence surges
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Gunmen in Ecuador kill 8, injure 8 others in attack in coastal city of Guayaquil as violence surges

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Ecuador: 5 tourists kidnapped, killed by 'rival gangsters'
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Ecuador: 5 tourists kidnapped, killed by 'rival gangsters'

Firstpost  

Six adults and a child were abducted on Friday when about 20 attackers broke into a hotel in the southern Ecuadorian beach town of Ayampe, according to local police chief Richard Vaca The assailants "apparently mistook them for adversaries" from a rival drug gang, said Vaca.President Daniel Noboa said one person has been arrested so far in the case and …

Ecuadorian prosecutor investigating TV studio attack shot dead
11 months ago

Ecuadorian prosecutor investigating TV studio attack shot dead

Firstpost  

In a brutal intensification of the ongoing “war” between the government and criminal organizations, the prosecutor looking into a spectacular armed assault by gangsters on live television was shot and killed on Wednesday, according to officials. The government last week declared war on powerful drug gangs, who in turn threatened to execute civilians and security forces and carried out a …

Ecuador jails back in control of the government days after inmates held 200 officials as hostages
11 months, 1 week ago

Ecuador jails back in control of the government days after inmates held 200 officials as hostages

Firstpost  

Ecuador’s security forces reclaimed control of several prisons that had fallen into the hands of gang members on Sunday, after securing the release of more than 200 officials who had been held hostage inside. Following the dangerous drug lord’s prison escape, the government and powerful narco gangs declared an all-out war on one another, sparking the nation’s long-brewing security crisis. …

41 Hostage Prison Workers Are Freed in Ecuador
11 months, 1 week ago

41 Hostage Prison Workers Are Freed in Ecuador

News 18  

More than 40 Ecuador prison officials taken hostage by inmates have been freed, the prisons authority said Saturday, as the country grapples with a brutal campaign of gang terror. The 24 guards and 17 administrative employees “were released,” the SNAI prisons authority said without providing details, while 133 guards and three employees continue to be held hostage. The guards and …

Ecuador prison staff held hostage by inmates all freed
11 months, 1 week ago

Ecuador prison staff held hostage by inmates all freed

Al Jazeera  

Prison authorities say 158 guards and 20 administrative staffers were held by inmates in at least seven prisons. “Security protocols and the joint work of the police and the national army enabled the release of all the hostages who were being held in various prisons across the country,” SNAI prison authorities said in a statement on the social media platform …

A Spike in Violence Rattles Ecuador as Nightclub Arson Kills 2 and False Bomb Sparks Evacuation
11 months, 1 week ago

A Spike in Violence Rattles Ecuador as Nightclub Arson Kills 2 and False Bomb Sparks Evacuation

News 18  

A fake bomb threat rattled the capital of Ecuador on Thursday, sparking the mobilization of an anti-explosives unit to a bustling area, while authorities in a city west of Quito responded to a nightclub arson that killed two people as the South American country staggers under a spike in violence. Police said they were forced to evacuate people from Playón …

Drug cartel declares war on the government in Ecuador
11 months, 1 week ago

Drug cartel declares war on the government in Ecuador

Op India  

In Ecuador, several hundred soldiers patrolled the capital Quito, where residents were traumatised as an upsurge in violence shook the entire nation. President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency for 60 days and a night curfew on 8th January, but the gangs responded by declaring “war” and threatening to kill civilians and security forces. Just over two months after …

Ecuador’s narco gang violence: A timeline of the recent crisis
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Ecuador’s narco gang violence: A timeline of the recent crisis

Al Jazeera  

Long seen as stable in a region wracked with drug-related crime, Ecuador is now seeing brazen attacks that have shocked many. Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has declared a state of emergency after at least 10 people were killed in a series of bold attacks in the past several days, as the South American country grapples with record gang-related violence. Before …

Ten killed, gangs unleash terror as Ecuador declares state of emergency
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Ten killed, gangs unleash terror as Ecuador declares state of emergency

Al Jazeera  

Gunmen storm TV station during live broadcast, more than 20 violent incidents reported as country lurches into crisis. At least 10 people have been killed in Ecuador in a series of attacks blamed on armed gangs, as the country plunges into chaos in what the new president has called an “internal armed conflict”. President Daniel Noboa, 36, declared a 60-day …

How will the deaths of high-profile murder suspects tip Ecuador’s election?
1 year, 2 months ago

How will the deaths of high-profile murder suspects tip Ecuador’s election?

Al Jazeera  

Seven suspects in the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio have died in prison this month. “All the were Colombian nationals and were charged with the assassination of ex-presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio,” SNAI said in its press release. “If anything happens, they change their minds.” A tight election Maluk believes the fallout from the seven killings could weigh heavily on …

Ecuadorians are picking a new president, but their demands for safety will be hard to meet
1 year, 2 months ago

Ecuadorians are picking a new president, but their demands for safety will be hard to meet

Associated Press  

CARACAS, Venezuela — The contest comes Sunday, and whoever wins the prize — a job that starts on Christmas — will face a difficult, if not impossible, task. “There’s nothing that fails like success,” said Lowell Gustafson, a Latin American politics professor at Villanova University. “Whoever wins this election is going to have to deal with this … but I …

A seventh man accused in killing of an Ecuador presidential candidate is slain inside prison
1 year, 2 months ago

A seventh man accused in killing of an Ecuador presidential candidate is slain inside prison

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — A seventh man accused in the August assassination of an Ecuadorian presidential candidate was killed inside a prison in Ecuador’s capital, authorities said Saturday, a day after six others allegedly linked to the crime were slain in a different lockup. The prison system said in a press release that the man killed was being held at a …

Colombians held over Ecuador presidential candidate’s murder slain in jail
1 year, 2 months ago

Colombians held over Ecuador presidential candidate’s murder slain in jail

Al Jazeera  

Ecuador’s President pledges to get to bottom of killings in prison of six Colombian suspects in high-profile murder. Six Colombian inmates killed in a prison in Ecuador were all suspects in the murder of the country’s anticorruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio earlier this year, Ecuadorian authorities have confirmed. They “are of Colombian nationality and were accused of the murder of …

Ecuador says 57 guards and police officers are released after being held hostage in several prisons
1 year, 3 months ago

Ecuador says 57 guards and police officers are released after being held hostage in several prisons

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuadorian authorities announced Friday the release of 50 guards and seven police officers who were taken hostage for more than a day, in what the government described as a response by criminal groups to its efforts to regain control of several large correctional facilities in the South American country. The latest explosion with dynamite happened early Friday …

Car bomb explosions and hostage-taking inside prisons underscore Ecuador’s fragile security
1 year, 3 months ago

Car bomb explosions and hostage-taking inside prisons underscore Ecuador’s fragile security

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador’s fragile security situation was underscored Thursday by a series of car bombings and the hostage-taking of more than 50 law enforcement officers inside various prisons, just weeks after the country was shaken by the assassination of a presidential candidate. Ecuador’s National Police reported no injuries resulting from the four explosions in Quito, the capital, and in …

Political leader in Ecuador is killed less than a week after presidential candidate’s assassination
1 year, 4 months ago

Political leader in Ecuador is killed less than a week after presidential candidate’s assassination

Associated Press  

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — The unprecedented violence shaking Ecuador claimed the life of another political leader Monday, bringing the number of politics-related slayings within the last four weeks to three, including that of a presidential candidate. “A heartfelt hug to the family of colleague Pedro Briones, fallen by the hands of violence.” The killing of Briones, who was a political leader …

Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets

Associated Press  

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — Belen Diaz was walking home from college one evening when a motorcycle carrying two men made a menacing U-turn. “We are at the hands of drug trafficking, of evil in its entirety.” The country’s National Police tallied 3,568 violent deaths in the first six months of this year, far more than the 2,042 reported during the same …

Is Ecuador succumbing to gang violence and organised crime?
1 year, 4 months ago

Is Ecuador succumbing to gang violence and organised crime?

Al Jazeera  

A state of emergency has been imposed after assassination of presidential candidate. Fernando Villavicencio is the third electoral candidate to be killed in Ecuador in a matter of weeks. The former investigative journalist campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, accusing government officials of having links to organised crime. Ecuador is struggling with rising gang violence and drug trafficking. Presenter: Adrian Finighan …

Ecuador beset by crime, economic woes ahead of presidential vote
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador beset by crime, economic woes ahead of presidential vote

Al Jazeera  

People in Ecuador have expressed pessimism ahead of upcoming presidential elections, as the South American nation struggles with economic turmoil and increasing crime and insecurity. But a lack of employment opportunities and rising insecurity – linked in part to increased activity among criminal groups – have pushed a growing number of people to leave Ecuador and seek opportunities elsewhere. “We’re …

Ecuador assesses toll of prison violence as 17 guards still held
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador assesses toll of prison violence as 17 guards still held

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say they are still determining an official death toll after days of violence across Ecuador’s prisons. Authorities in Ecuador continue to assess the toll of a days-long spate of prison violence, after President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the country’s detention system in a push to restore calm. Police said on Wednesday that they had recovered …

Toll from Ecuador jail riots hits 31 as army wrests back control
1 year, 4 months ago

Toll from Ecuador jail riots hits 31 as army wrests back control

Al Jazeera  

Death toll from riots in Ecuador’s prisons climbs as soldiers storm a violence-hobbled jail in port of Guayaquil. Dozens of people have died from a wave of violence in Ecuador’s most dangerous prison, officials said, hours as President Guillermo Lasso imposed a 60-day state of emergency across the country’s penitentiary system. The prosecutor’s office raised the toll to 31 from …

Ecuador announces state of emergency after mayor shot to death
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador announces state of emergency after mayor shot to death

Al Jazeera  

The country is also contending with violence within its prison system as deadly clashes erupt between gangs. Ecuador has announced a state of emergency in three provinces after a shooting left two people dead, including the mayor of a major city. In announcing the measure on Monday, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso paid tribute to the two victims, Agustín Intriago and …

Ecuador declares state of emergency amid violent clashes
1 year, 4 months ago

Ecuador declares state of emergency amid violent clashes

The Hindu  

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency and night curfews in three coastal provinces, amid a wave of violence over the weekend in the Andean country that left at least eight people dead. Lasso declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Manabi and Los Rios and in the city of Duran, near Guayaquil, after …

Over 90 prison guards are being held hostage by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador
1 year, 5 months ago

Over 90 prison guards are being held hostage by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador

CNN  

CNN — Ecuador’s government has declared a state of emergency in two provinces after its security crisis escalated over the weekend with the killing of a mayor and uprisings in several penitentiaries across the country. More than 90 prison security agents are currently being held by inmates across five different prisons in Ecuador, according to the country’s penitentiary service SNAI. …

Mayor of Ecuador port city slain in shooting that kills 1 other, wounds 4
1 year, 5 months ago

Mayor of Ecuador port city slain in shooting that kills 1 other, wounds 4

Associated Press  

QUITO, Ecuador — The mayor of Ecuador’s third largest city was slain Sunday in a shooting that killed one other person and wounded four more, including two suspected attackers, officials said. The victim’s sister, Ana Intriago, wrote on her Twitter account that “this crime cannot go unpunished.. Let’s not let them win.” Manta is about 260 kilometers southwest of Ecuador’s …

Gangs battling for control over port city leaves Ecuador broken
1 year, 5 months ago

Gangs battling for control over port city leaves Ecuador broken

The Hindu  

With slow yet heavy steps, Herlinda walks through the rubble of what used to be her house. The humble two-story building was blown up a year ago in an attack by criminal gangs who fought over the port city of Guayaquil, known as Ecuador’s gateway to the Pacific, located some 400 km south of capital Quito. Rise in violence The …

Death toll rises to 46 in Honduran women’s prison gang violence
1 year, 6 months ago

Death toll rises to 46 in Honduran women’s prison gang violence

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say they are working to identify bodies burned during rioting on Tuesday. The number of people killed during a spate of rioting and fires at a Honduran women’s prison this week has risen to 46 with dozens of families waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be released. The shooting and burning of dozens of people, one …

More than 40 women killed in Honduran prison riot
1 year, 6 months ago

More than 40 women killed in Honduran prison riot

Al Jazeera  

A grisly riot at a women’s prison in Honduras on Tuesday has left at least 41 women dead in an outburst of violence that the country’s president blamed on “mara” street gangs that often wield broad power inside penitentiaries. — Xiomara Castro de Zelaya June 20, 2023 Local media interviewed one injured inmate outside the hospital who said prisoners belonging …

153 Prisoners Die In El Salvador Jail, The Cruelest In The World
1 year, 6 months ago

153 Prisoners Die In El Salvador Jail, The Cruelest In The World

News 18  

Speaking of the most dangerous prisons in the world, the El Salvador jail tops the list. But, in El Salvador jail, the conditions of the prisoners are so deplorable that many reportedly die within the correctional facility. Known as the cruellest jail to ever exist, the accused prisoners were reportedly herded like cattle, their head bowed, walking like zombies in …

Armed attack kills 10 in Ecuador port of Guayaquil
1 year, 7 months ago

Armed attack kills 10 in Ecuador port of Guayaquil

Al Jazeera  

Three people have also been wounded in the shooting including a five-year-old girl, police say. At least 10 people have been killed in an armed attack overnight in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s main port city and economic hub that is under a state of emergency due to rising drug violence, the public prosecutor’s office and police have reported. “We believe that this …

Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru | DETAILS
1 year, 9 months ago

Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru | DETAILS

India TV News  

Earthquake today: A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines. The US Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered just off the Pacific Coast, about 50 miles …

Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru
1 year, 9 months ago

Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru

The Hindu  

A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines. The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of about 6.8 that was centered just off the Pacific Coast, about 50 miles south of …

In troubled Mexico prison, inmates ruled their cell blocks
1 year, 11 months ago

In troubled Mexico prison, inmates ruled their cell blocks

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A violent prison break in …

Ten killed as gang bosses’ transfer sparks prison riot in Ecuador
2 years, 1 month ago

Ten killed as gang bosses’ transfer sparks prison riot in Ecuador

Al Jazeera  

Ecuador has experienced eight prison riots which have left about 400 inmates dead since February 2021. Ten inmates have been killed in a riot at a prison in Ecuador’s capital Quito, which authorities said took place as a result of the government’s decision to relocate three crime bosses to a high-security facility. The prison riot and killings are the latest …

UN experts sound alarm as Ecuador sees more deadly prison clashes
2 years, 2 months ago

UN experts sound alarm as Ecuador sees more deadly prison clashes

Al Jazeera  

Recent violence in Ecuador’s prisons is the result of ‘decades of state abandonment’, United Nations panel says. A panel of United Nations experts has raised “grave” concerns about the deadly violence plaguing Ecuador’s prisons, as officials in the South American nation said after more than two dozen people were killed in bloody clashes this week. Hundreds of people have been …

Five Killed in Explosion in Ecuadoran Port City, Govt Blames 'Organized-crime Mercenaries'
2 years, 4 months ago

Five Killed in Explosion in Ecuadoran Port City, Govt Blames 'Organized-crime Mercenaries'

News 18  

Five people died and 16 were injured in an explosion Sunday in the Ecuadoran port city of Guayaquil in an attack the government blamed on organized crime, officials said. Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said “organized-crime mercenaries,” long involved in illicit drug traffic, were “now attacking with explosives.” “It is a declaration of war against the state,” Carrillo added on Twitter. …

Ecuador says 12 killed in latest deadly prison riot
2 years, 5 months ago

Ecuador says 12 killed in latest deadly prison riot

Al Jazeera  

Authorities lower death toll from 13 after riot at Bellavista prison as work continues to identify dismembered bodies. “Crime scene investigation teams have collected 45 human parts in the Santo Domingo penitentiary, which are 12 bodies and not 13,” Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo said on Twitter on Tuesday. The incident is the latest bout of deadly violence to grip Ecuador’s …

Dozens of people dead in Colombia prison riot
2 years, 5 months ago

Dozens of people dead in Colombia prison riot

Al Jazeera  

Forty-nine people have been killed and 30 injured during attempted escape from prison in Tulua, officials say. At least 49 people have died and dozens were injured in a fire during an apparent riot in a prison in the southwestern Colombian city of Tulua, according to officials. General Tito Castellanos, the head of the national prisons agency, said on Tuesday …

Indigenous protester dies in Ecuador as violence increases
2 years, 6 months ago

Indigenous protester dies in Ecuador as violence increases

Al Jazeera  

On Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 Indigenous people took to the streets of Quito. An Indigenous protester has died in Ecuador as violence increased amid days of anti-government protests that the country’s military has labelled as a “grave threat” to democracy. On Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 Indigenous people took to the streets in the capital Quito, continuing demonstrations that began on …

Dozens die in custody under El Salvador’s state of exception
2 years, 6 months ago

Dozens die in custody under El Salvador’s state of exception

Al Jazeera  

In the days after 32-year-old Walter Vladimir Sandoval Penate’s March 30 arrest in El Refugio, El Salvador, his mother travelled to the public prosecutor’s office in a desperate search for information. And the government’s inhumane prison enforcement tactics, which have included parading barely dressed inmates in front of cameras, had already gained scrutiny from human rights groups. Overcrowding and poor …

Traumatised families demand reforms after Ecuador prison riots
2 years, 6 months ago

Traumatised families demand reforms after Ecuador prison riots

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds have died in a series of recent prison massacres, as critics say the government is neglecting its duty of care. He finally called around 9pm via WhatsApp, a common form of communication within Ecuador’s prisons, and told his family he was OK – but they could hear explosions and gunshots in the background. “How can I not be angry?” …

Ecuador imprisonment ‘almost a death sentence’: Amnesty
2 years, 7 months ago

Ecuador imprisonment ‘almost a death sentence’: Amnesty

Al Jazeera  

Rights group calls on government to address structural problems as prison riot left at least 44 inmates dead this week. Imprisonment is nearly “a death sentence” in Ecuador, Amnesty International has warned, a day after the latest prison riot in the South American nation left dozens of inmates dead. In a statement on Tuesday, the human rights group’s Americas director …

Dozens dead in latest Ecuador prison riot
2 years, 7 months ago

Dozens dead in latest Ecuador prison riot

Al Jazeera  

Authorities say at least 43 people killed after a fight broke out between rival gangs at prison 80km from Quito. Dozens of people have been killed in a fight between rival gangs inside a prison in Ecuador, the public prosecutor’s office said, in the latest instance of deadly prison violence in the South American nation. Authorities said a fight broke …

Ecuador pardons some inmates after deadly prison riots
3 years, 1 month ago

Ecuador pardons some inmates after deadly prison riots

Al Jazeera  

Ecuador is seeking to ease overcrowding in its prisons after gang-linked riots killed more than 300 people this year. Ecuador’s president has pardoned some prisoners in an effort to ease overcrowding in the country’s prisons following a string of riots that left more than 300 people dead this year. In a statement late on Monday, Guillermo Lasso’s press office said …

‘We are all suffering’: What’s going on inside Ecuador’s prisons?
3 years, 1 month ago

‘We are all suffering’: What’s going on inside Ecuador’s prisons?

Al Jazeera  

Hundreds have been killed in gang-linked riots this year, as experts say systemic problems plague country’s prisons. “Like all the other mothers in Guayaquil say, don’t give information, we don’t know anything, we don’t have access to anything.” Systemic problems Security experts in Ecuador have identified 11 armed groups that control the country’s prisons, including Ecuador’s largest, Los Choneros – …

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